Update from Bloomberg – Top 500 Billionaires, March 2017

We have entered the 3rd month of 2017, and the top 5 wealthiest billionaires in the world still hold onto their top spots

Bill Gates remains as the wealthiest man in the world, and his wealth is increasing – it has risen by 3.9% this year alone.

Warren Buffet has made $147 million in losses this year so far, but he still remains secure as the 2nd wealthiest. Jeff Bezos has made increases of over 12.5% and is stable at 3rd position.

Amancio Ortega has made losses of $2.88 billion but still rides ahead of Mark Zuckerberg in 4th place. Zuckerberg remains steady as the 5th wealthiest man in the world, and his Facebook empire is still on the rise. His wealth has risen by an amazing $9.11 billion this year.

Up and coming billionaire, Wang Wei, began publicly trading his delivery company, SF Express, in January this year. This shot his wealth upward dramatically, and just this year his worth increased by $19.9 billion. A self-made billionaire, he founded the largest delivery company in China.

Hi-tech is still the most lucrative industry in the world. Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg attest to its stability as a wise choice to enter into it. These men hold steady as 3 of the wealthiest men on earth.

However, most billionaires on the list have acquired their wealth by diversifying. Carlos Slim and the Koch brothers Charles and David sit steadily on the list of the top 10 billionaires in the world. Spreading their wealth into many pots has proven wise.

The youngest billionaire on the list is Evan Spiegel, founder of Snapchat. Self-made, investors are rushing to invest in his company. At only 27, Snap is now valued at $20 billion. The company also boasts Alibaba as a large investor.

Bloomberg’s Top 500 Billionaires

The most inspirational billionaires on the list are immigrants who came to America succeeded despite cultural obstacles

Sergey Brin escaped Russian anti-Semitism with his family, and they made it to the US when he was 6 years old.

From refugee status, Brin has risen to being the 12th wealthiest man in the world. He is the President of Alphabet, the umbrella company that owns Google. His net worth is $42.8 billion.

Just 0.1% of the top 500 billionaires on the list are women. However, most of the male billionaires on the list share their immense wealth with their wives. This automatically makes these female billionaires too, despite their names being absent from the list. But there are still some notable women on the list.

The wealthiest self-made female billionaire is Zhou Qunfei. She is literally a rag to riches tale. Growing up in an impoverished village, she has now risen to 167th on the Bloomberg 500 list. Her net worth is $7.69 billion.

Zhou is the chairman of Lens Technology, and her biggest clients are Apple and Samsung. It was her company that developed the first touchscreen technology for smartphones.

Jennifer Pritzker is a testament that gender diversity is no longer is an obstacle to success. Faulkner is the first transgender woman to become a billionaire. She has a net worth of around $1.7 billion

Pritzker is an investor and philanthropist, and part of the wealthy Pritzker family. Her father built the Marmon Group, which went on to accrue enormous wealth. She has founded and served on the boards of, many philanthropic organizations.